Wednesday 10-22-08
Murray, a Ross Marine mechanical tech. was at the boat at 08:00 and had my complete confidence within 10 minutes. He went into the engine compartment with no tools at all so he could evaluate the space he had to work in and some specifics about which tools he would need (wrench sizes etc.) then went back to his cart on the dock and came back with most all of what the job would take. He was immediately puzzled by how hard it was to rotate the assembled shaft and theorized how that might tie into the noise. He proceeded to remove the four large bolts and nuts that hold the shaft to the transmission, with no trouble at all, but was very surprised that the two flanges didn’t then separate on their own. I (RCB) then assisted Murray, and with chisels, hammer and a pry bar, we finally were able to separate the shaft from the transmission flange. Murray then tried to rotate the shaft and it was still too tight to move manually. Murray then called his fellow tech., Jimmy Johnston aboard, for a consult and the result was that something may be out of alignment between the cutlass bearing and the outboard support strut that supports the shaft, just in front of the prop. If indeed, that is the case, it would reflect a factory defect when the boat was built. The only way to be certain is to haul the boat out of the water and do a visual inspection. Whatever the cause, it must be made right and FLIGHT will be lifted out tomorrow if weather and current don’t get in the way. If the solution requires the strut to be removed and properly aligned with the cutlass bearing, the boat could be tied up for a week or slightly more.

Company for Flight

SECURITY

Ross Marine has 24 hour security so we feel comfortable leaving Flight here.

Faced with the situation, we have decided to rent a car and drive home for a break. We feel confident that Ross Marine has the crew of experts to correct the problem so we can continue south, and so we will.

Flight, patiently waiting attention.


TO BE CONTINUED...

Tuesday 10-21-08
We cleared the anchorage at 07:30 following a clear, still and chilly night. The current was fair and we made good speed through Palm Island and into Charleston Harbor. It was beautiful crossing the large bay that makes up Charleston Harbor – to our left we could see historic Fort Sumter and beyond, the entrance to the Atlantic Ocean. To our right was the Charleston peninsula with its historic water front homes right on the point. A container ship was transiting to a loading dock and in the background, looking up the Cooper River, was and aircraft carrier and several surface type war ships – U.S. Navy, I am sure.
The noise that has developed in FLIGHT’s propulsion line is enough of a concern that I called Tolchester Marina and discussed it with Charles, our trusty service guru. Based on what I could describe, he didn’t feel it was likely to be a transmission problem, but suggested I have it checked out when it was convenient. We had planned to cruise 40-50 miles today, but checking the charts and guides, there just didn’t seem to be much in the way of service facilities after Charleston, for quite a long way. Ross Marine was just a few miles south of Charleston along the ICW, on the Stono River, and they have a reputation for being a good yard for serious repair work. We called them and they said they could take a look at our noise situation, so we made that our destination for the day. We arrived at the Ross yard at 10:30 and later in the afternoon Carlos Baker, the service manager came to the boat and I was able to demonstrate the noise, which is something like a “chirp” – it occurs slightly after the shifter is put into neutral, about when the shaft comes to a stop. He listened to a dozen “chirps” and said he would expect it was coming from a too-tight cutlass bearing likely due to a miss-alignment between the shaft and the drive flange of the transmission. This alignment is something that needs to be checked every year or two since a boat’s hull does flex somewhat, over time. He could have a mechanic on the boat first thing tomorrow morning, and if it was a normal alignment job, we could possibly be underway by afternoon. We will hope for the best.

Sunrise in Whiteside Creek -another reflection photo

Monday 10-20-08
The outside temperature was 46 degrees F. this morning, at daybreak. Polly thought that called for a hot oatmeal breakfast so we ate and made our second pot of coffee before getting underway at 08:00. The WX was grand – CAVU ++ and the tidal current was with us most of the morning to give us our preferred 8 kts. even with a reduced power setting.
The shores were loaded with birds in this area – bald eagles, a golden eagle (we think), pelicans, egrets, heron and of course, gulls and cormorants. We even had a couple of dolphin sightings. We are still in very wild and undeveloped low country. The marsh goes on forever with small water cuts here and there and for miles, no obvious signs of human development. There were a few local fisherman in small runabouts but otherwise traffic on the ICW was very light – we passed only one other boat, a sailboat, headed south. We thought that by now some other trawler snowbirds would have caught up to us, but we still feel at times, that we are alone in the water world.
Polly remembered that this was our neighbor, Bill Rankin’s, birthday so we gave him a call since the cell phone signal was strong. Bill caught us up to date on things in the neighborhood and Polly and Bill’s wife Lois had a good chat. The Rankins kindly keep an eye on our house and property and do us favors like tossing away some of the unsolicited newspapers that show up. They are good friends.
We are getting close to Charleston, SC but have decided not to make an overnight stop there. It is a great city but needs a few days to see the sights and enjoy some of the great restaurants that are there. We visited Charleston as part of the search for our first trawler. We didn’t find our boat there, but the trip was worth the drive just to check out this great southern city. We may make it a layover on the trip back north. When we set out this morning we thought we would stop at a marina at Palm Island, about 10 mile north of Charleston. The weather was so great that we decided to change the plan and anchored in a creek just north of Palm Island called Whiteside Creek. We arrived and anchored in the creek (on the NW side of the ICW) at 12:20 and decided to have lunch (PBJ for PMB and leftover meatloaf for RCB) and then take our dinghy to nearby Capers Island.

Capers is a barrier island and completely designated as a wildlife sanctuary. The trip to the islands floating dock was about a mile and didn’t seem to take very long to get there because the current was with us. The trip back to the boat later would take about twice the time due to the stronger current opposing us and our hand built dinghy with its 2.5 HP Yamaha outboard. The same rig, that carried us through the lock at the Tay Canal, and on to Perth, Ontario in the summer of 2007. When we use that boat I can’t help but reminisce about the nights and weekends spent in our garage, turning the mahogany boards and plywood into a little boat.

We spent a couple of hours on Capers Island hiking and looking for the alligators that are supposed to share the impounded interior waters with many species of birds and fish (and mosquitoes). No gators were to found but we did hike all the way to the ocean side, and took a bunch of pictures.

Back aboard FLIGHT, we took some time to clean off all of the insect repellent we had spread over our selves at Capers. I set up the grill and when dinner time came, it was burgers from the freezer and rice & red beans from the box (Zatarain’s). The evening melted into a cool, still starlit night that provided peaceful sleeping.

All alone on the ICW.

Sunday 10-19-08
We awoke to a sunny and VERY cool day. The front had passed but there was some north wind left over, but nothing we couldn’t live with. We both took advantage of the nice showers at Osprey and about 09:00 we decided to get underway and head on down the line. Osprey is a great stop and it would be easy to slide into a case of “dock fever” but we have places to go.
During the first several hours south, we saw very wild and natural shore line along this stretch of the ICW. Scrub bushes and trees grow right into the water and signs of human life are not to be found. We did cruise by a small gut or bay, where the Waccamaw River got a bit wider, and there were a half dozen little cabins (kind of like the garden sheds found at home) on floats, that were tied to trees along the wild shoreline. I am guessing they are floating fishing cabins used by local sportsmen – sort of like the ice fishing cabins that are used in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Once again, we felt we were the only boat heading south – all of the boats we saw were locals coming back north from a weekend boat show held in Georgetown, SC.


A SCHOOL BOAT!

The Waccamaw got wider as we sailed by Georgetown and a few miles farther, the ICW left the river and we entered the Estherville – Mimim Canal. The canal is another dug portion of the water way and pretty much straight. There was a cable ferry crossing indicated on the chart and when we reached that point, we found a small 2-car flat craft that had a sign on its side saying, “Scott Employees Only”. When we were passing the town of Georgetown we had seen a large industrial facility which looked like it must be a paper mill – the ferry must be a short cut for getting people to the mill so they can keep the toilet paper rolling out across America.

SCOTT PAPER FERRY

We had decided we would cruise about 40 SM today, and on the chart that was close to Minim Creek which is listed in the Waterway Guide as a good anchorage. Minim Creek is right at the end of the Estherville – Minim Canal and wasn’t hard to find. We turned into the creek’s mouth and cautiously passed over the shallow water and on into the deeper spot shown on our chart. We had the anchor down and the boat secured by 2:15 PM – about 43 miles for the day. Minim Creek is one of many narrow water ways that cut up, what can only be described as a huge marsh area. The geography in this part of coastal South Carolina is very flat and nearly at sea level, with a tidal range of approximately 5’. We were the only boat anchored in the creek for the night – we estimated that we were the only humans within a 5 mile radius.

Tug & barge on ICW - Flight at anchor.

Dinner was a simple affair – we heated and shared the penne ala vodka that was left from the great dinner last night at Scatori’s and made salads from the bagged greens we have aboard.
FLIGHT, the boat, has been performing wonderfully-Moving us along at a reliable, 8 kts., while sipping diesel at the predictable 2.4 GPH and doing it in very comfortable style. A few days ago, when slowly idling about waiting for a bridge to open, we detected a squeak or brief squeal just after the transmission was shifted to neutral. The noise occurred a few seconds after shifting – possibly at the point the prop shaft was coming to a stop. That noise occurred again today as we were maneuvering to anchor. That is something we will have to investigate and maybe make a phone call to Tolchester Marina, our favorite service yard near Rock Hall. If any work is needed, we may have to take advantage of being near Charleston, which is coming up soon, and is a major boating center.

Saturday 10-18-08
It was a good call to hang out for a day or so at a marina. Today it is windy, raining and COLD! If there was any doubt creeping into our thinking about why we are making this migration, it is gone – we like warm better than cold. The down-time is nice as well – Polly got some laundry started and we had breakfast at the marina’s snack bar while it was drying. That is how we met our slip neighbors, Dick & Libby Mills of the S/V TARWATHIE. They are also heading south for the winter and are full time live-aboards ,who sold their house a few years ago and live on their sail boat. When Polly went back to the laundry room to fold things, she ran into another cruising couple who were staying at Osprey. Jack and Patsy Mc Cord are slowly working their way south in their Kadey - Krogen trawler, HONGA. They still have their home in GA and will leave their boat here at Osprey for a few weeks while they check out their house and make a visit to see children in Colorado. Then they will continue south to Florida. Both the Mills’ and McCord’s expect to be in Marathon for some period of the winter and we hope to meet up again.

Ralph telling goats about Contentment Farm, and the color of the water we are traveling thru.

The rain was heavy at times and kept us aboard for most of the day. I (RCB) checked all fluids in the engine room (and in the beer locker) to be sure nothing was low, and spent some time catching up on the narrative for our blog. Polly inventoried food supplies and made a list, and we both spent some time reading. In the latter part of the afternoon the rain stopped and the skies began clearing, with winds building and cold air moving in. We discussed how we might get to a grocery store to buy the things we needed, before moving on, and learned there was a new service available.

The new service was actually a restaurant that had agreed to provide round trip transportation for boaters at Osprey Marina, who wanted to come for dinner. Since they were located in a shopping center right next to a Lowes Foods Store, boaters could have dinner, then shop before catching a ride back to their boat. We called and they came. “They”, was actually Mike Scatori, a boater and also partner in a great new Italian restaurant. His partners include his wife, daughter and a young chef named Kevin. Kevin has professional credentials that include working with Emeril (the Emerl). We had a dynamite dinner starting with Panko coated broccoli rabe and ending with a made-to-order (by Kevin) chocolate biscotti mousse. Between this starter and desert, there was a great shrimp dish and super eggplant parmigiana. There were also a few glasses of nice Chianti and, Chef Kevin visited the table several times to be sure all was well with our dinner. After the second cup of coffee we went next door to do some shopping and then Mike drove us back to the marina.

Coiling lines - early morning.

Heron on the dock

After we returned, we invited new friend Dave Sandstedt (S/V Canvasback Too) to join us for a night cap and he brought his list of favorite anchorages to share with us. Dave will be remaining behind for a few days, waiting for a couple of friends to catch up, before continuing south. We have found Dave to be a very interesting fellow and good company. We hope we will cross paths with him again. The forecast calls for fairly high winds to continue into tomorrow – we may stay another day. We’ll see.

Golfers getting from hole to hole.

Friday 10-17-08
Departed 08:10 for Osprey Marina located about 20 miles south, and was a suggested spot for waiting out the frontal passage that is on the way. We were still in the vicinity of Myrtle Beach for the first hour or so, and the area’s popularity as a golfing center was clear as we passed numerous courses. One course is apparently split by the ICW – there is a cable car system that carries golfers over the waterway from one hole to another. Polly got some good pics of that and other evidence of golf courses. The shores are also lined with many, many homes of various styles and levels of elegance. There are also a lot of indicators of waterfront development that is planned and in progress. There are several new highway bridges under construction indicating a lot of expansion must be going on.
The waterway, its self, in this area is straight and rather unremarkable. We did see a small alligator swimming along but when we got close enough for a picture, he went beneath a tree top that had fallen in the water. We were looking forward to a shorter day and an opportunity to kick back for a day or so – that is the good part of waiting out bad WX on the water.

Everyone at the marina is very friendly, the employees as well as the other boaters we ran into. As we were washing the boat, another transient named Dave, stopped and announced “I know where Spring Grove is”. Dave is from Gettysburg, PA and is making his second cruise south from the Chesapeake Bay. He has a 37’ sailboat and is “single handing” (alone on the boat). He was widowed a few years ago and he and his wife had enjoyed sailing on the Bay for many years and had always planned to cruise south for the winters when they retired, so Dave decided he would continue with their dream, taking his wife along in spirit. He sold their house and car and moved aboard their boat, and last year made his first journey to a warm winter. We chatted for quite a while and he is a very interesting fellow with an inspiring attitude. He gave me a lot of tips about places along the waterway to see, or to not waste time on, as well as some good anchorages and marinas. While his circumstances are a bit unique, I believe he is a good representation of the variety of people who are long term cruisers and we are looking forward to meeting a lot more of them. I hope we bump into Dave at other times and places as we progress down the ICW at our individual paces

Another reflection picture

Thursday 10-16-08
Still slightly dark as we left the dock at Carolina Beach and headed out of the harbor to Snow’s Cut. The Cut is a short waterway that connects the bay at Carolina Beach to the Cape Fear River and to follow the ICW south, you must go down stream and across the river for about 8-10 miles. Close to the mouth of the river is the town of Southport and there you enter the ICW continuation. The current through Snow’s Cut was with us but when we got to the river, we had an opposing current running at 2 ½ to 3 knots to slow our GS to about 5 kts. The Cape Fear River is big in this area and carries ocean going traffic up to the city of Wilmington, NC. There is a very large and interesting government ship loading facility on the south / west side of the river. It is the U.S. Army Ocean Terminal at Sunny Point and is a very restricted area. It is the largest ammunitions port in the U.S. and very well protected with barriers and guard boats in the area.
The ride down the river took about an hour and a half and finally we reached the buoys that lead us back onto the ICW at Southport. Southport looks like a pleasant small waterfront town with a few marinas – we might make is a stop when we are coming back north. The tide was near high for most of the morning and the extra depth made it nice for crossing the several inlets we had to navigate. The tidal range in this area is about 5’ and many of the smaller inlets are subject to shoaling in spots and those spots change frequently enough that the markers are floating so they can be changed as needed.

Capt. Hardhead and his pals

One of the bridges we must contend with today is a floating pontoon bridge at Sunset Beach, NC. The bridge only opens for boats on the hour and if there is a very low tide, it cannot open at all. We adjusted our speed down so as to arrive at the bridge when it would open. When we were about 2 miles from it, with the bridge in sight, and a half hour remaining, we noticed the bridge had opened to allow a north bound tug boat to pass (bridges are required to allow all commercial vessels to pass when ever requested) and we lamented that we hadn’t kept our speed up. With the tug coming at us, we called them to arrange a passing and learned the tug’s name was “Capt. Hardhead” out of Miami. Soon after talking to “Hardhead” she seemed to stop and mill about, and then, she turned around and called the bridge for an opening so she could go back south to Myrtle Beach to pick up a part that had arrived there for them. We pushed to throttle up and snugged right up to her stern (we could read the lettering on the tires she had hanging over her sides) to slide through the bridge with her. We tagged along behind Hardhead for an hour or two until she slid off to starboard at a restaurant dock where it looked like she picked up some lunch that must have been called ahead for. As we came to the next swing bridge there were two tugs moving a large raft of dredge pipes that must have been 60’ long. One tug was pulling and the other pushing and as we passed, we continued to watch them, behind us, and saw Capt. Hardhead stop next to them for a chat – it seems they must all have been from the same company.

Our destination for the day was an interesting place called Barefoot Landing. We arrived about 3:00 PM and Art, the dock master, helped us get tied up to the 1200’ long floating dock. We were in South Carolina, y’all. It’s hard to describe Barefoot Landing – it is actually a combination of shopping mall / amusement park / food court with a dock along the ICW near Myrtle Beach. Oh yes, it is all built around a manmade lake (with alligators) whose surface is about 8’10’ above the water in the adjacent ICW – check it out http://www.barefootlanding.com/ . It’s an easy and interesting stop and a lot of ICW cruisers stop here.
Polly and I were in the mood for a pizza fix so we scouted out a spot for dinner. We settled on” Ultimate California Pizza” and all I will say is that the cold Yuengling Lager, on draft, was the best thing about it. Now I have something else to add to my list of “what I don’t like about California besides the socialists”. NOAA is advertising bad weather for the weekend , so tomorrow we may find a spot to hole up in for a few days

Flight at Barefoot Landing Marina

Full Moon to Bow, Sunrise at Stern - Mile Hammock

Wednesday 10-15-08
We left the anchorage about 07:45, a bit later than normal due to the extra time needed to clean the black muck from the anchor and chain. It looked like grease that might be used for tank track lube. Tidal currents were alternately with us and against us because there are numerous small cuts that come in from the ocean along this stretch of the ICW. Depending on which side of the cut you are on, the same tide might be flowing either toward or away from a particular cut. Other issues that can slow your pace are close quarters with homes where they have “No Wake Zone” postings, and the high number of small fishing boats drifting about along (and in) the channel. Out of courtesy and safety concerns, we slow down for the fishermen. We also had timing issues with a couple of lower bridges and had to slow and wait for the scheduled openings – all of these things gave us an average speed of 7.3 SMPH for our 7 hours underway, today. Note: the ICW is marked in statute miles and locations of bridges and marinas etc. are listed that way in guides. Mile Marker “0” is in Portsmouth, VA and the numbers increase as you go south – the northern boundary of Florida is about at MM 720. It is our plan to try to do about 50 miles on the days we are moving – it may prove to be ambitious.

"Netters"

Lawn Ornaments along the ICW

We see many large white Egrets all along the water way in this area, and Pelicans are also usually around in numbers. The Egrets are more plentiful here, than the Blue Herons we have back in the Chesapeake. Dolphin sightings have occurred more than we expected, and we have been surprised to find them in water as shallow as 15-18’ and in fairly narrow water ways. We also found today’s stretch of the waterway to be far more interesting and aesthetically appealing than the run, down Bogue sound.

Pelicans perching on Pilings

We chose Carolina Beach for our stop today and conditions for anchoring there didn’t sound too attractive so we phoned a new facility listed in the Skipper Bob guide, called Federal Point Yacht Club which also had attractive rates. It turned out that is wasn’t really a yacht club, but a condo marina where, not all of the slips have been purchased. Someone who has control of 6 slips, rents them to transient boaters. While the location wasn’t handy to any shore side things, it was a nice floating T-dock with power and maybe the best rest room and shower facilities we have ever found on the water. Apparently a flock of the local ducks liked it as well, and after dark, 15 or 20 of them gathered on the dock next to our boat to settle in for the night. All in all it was a fine stop and very convenient for getting underway again, in the morning.

Great Egret - one of many and Dolphin

Tuesday 10-14-08
We left Oriental still sleeping, as we idled out of the harbor at 07:30 to cross the Neuse for Adams Creek, the back door to Beaufort, NC. The creek is very lovely with a variety of very nice properties along the shore. As we proceeded closer to Beaufort harbor, some marinas and boat yards began popping up and by the time we passed under the bridge that connects Beaufort to Morehead City, it was clear this is a major port for ocean shipping. There is a large plant at the south side of the bridge that produces chemicals including phosphate. A large tug (Pamlico) pushing two loaded barges was leaving the terminal as we made the turn south, and the barges were marked with the name of a Phosphate company. We had seen the Pamlico pushing barges northward in the Neuse River, yesterday.

South from Morehead City the ICW runs straight down Bogue Sound, a very shallow body of water that we found to be quite un-interesting. The best thing about it was the sunny day with a cooling breeze to keep us comfortable. At the south end of Bogue Sound the water way is full of turns and twists through some narrow spots. There are 8 or 10 miles where the ICW passes through Camp LeJeune, a U.S. Marine Corps base. There are signs reminding boaters not to anchor or go ashore and some other subtle reminders like old tank and armored vehicle remains. There is also a section guarded by signs with lights that indicate a live artillery firing range. When the lights are flashing, boat traffic is stopped because firing is being carried out. On Wednesday, the next day, we heard radio traffic between a military guard boat and ICW traffic indicating a 3 hour delay for boater, because the “range was hot”.
At times during this section of the water way, we could see ocean surf rolling onto the beach, less than a mile from where we were cruising along behind the barrier islands. We had planned to do about 50 miles today, and looking ahead on the charts, that put us near a dredged basin within Camp LeJeune

Marines - shoreside

The basin is used for launching small craft by the U.S.M.C. as well as for training, but it remains open to boaters for anchoring – DO NOT GO ASHORE. When we arrived, there was some sort of training going on in a large parking lot on shore. It involved 4 or 5 HumVees with about 6 Marines in each one. They drove around in formation and would suddenly stop and the men would jump out and take up defensive positions around the vehicles. They did this over and over and we could hear a lot of the commands and critique from our boat – it sounded like special Marine language – “G-D Mo**#r fxxk*r – ded as he&l”. Or something like that. The HumVee troops quit work a little after dark and went back to the base with a truck from Enterprise Rental. Then some other Marines started practicing. They had big helicopters and made low and loud approaches over the water to some landing zone inland that we could not see. Polly said they were still at it at 10:00PM. I hope those guys finally got it right.

Full moon, reflection and our anchor buoy.

We grilled chicken to have with a salad, for dinner. The night was calm. The moon was bright and full. There were plenty of bugs, especially mosquitoes. There were eventually 5 or 6 other boats anchored in the basin. It was very close to the ICW for continuing in the morning. There was no charge.
God bless those Marines.

Work boats in Oriental, NC

Dowery Creek to Oriental

Monday 10-13-08
The weather seemed to be acting like the forecast said it should, so we set out at 07:20 bound for Oriental, NC. It was a delightful morning and we had breakfast on the bridge as we cruised down the Pungo River to cross the Pamlico River and enter Goose Creek and the Hobucken cut. We saw a pod of dolphins swimming back and forth in Goose Creek but when Polly got to the lower deck with her camera, they never surfaced again. The series of smaller sheltered waterways eventually led us onto the Neuse River. The Neuse is a broad expanse of water that lays roughly NE to SW and since the wind was still blowing about 15 kts. from the NE, there were 2’-3’ swells running on our stern. The motion wasn’t particularly bad but a following sea and wind makes steering a chore. The occasional wave pushes against the back of the boat and causes it to fish tail. The auto pilot doesn’t handle the condition well so it is best to steer by hand.

R.E. Mayo Seafood, Hobucken, NC

We would have about 1 ½ to 2 hours of this on the Neuse River before we reached our destination of Oriental, NC. There were a few other south bound sailboats and some power vessels. There were also quite a few shrimp trawlers working on the Neuse and when we got into the harbor at Oriental, it was obvious that commercial fishing is alive and well in these parts of North Carolina. We arrived about 1:30 and took a slip at Oriental Marina where the boat is sitting about 50 feet from the main waterfront street of this charming town. Oriental claims to be “the sailing capital of North Carolina” and boasts a population of 831 people and 2700 boats.

After getting the boat squared away and checking in at the marina office we decided to have a late lunch at the dock side café. We struck up a conversation with a couple at another table and learned they have a house here. They, too, had originally stopped by on their boat and liked Oriental so well that they decided to stay. In further discussion, they asked where we are from and it turns out they used to do a lot of boating on the Chesapeake and, in fact, are friends of a couple who happen to be boat neighbors of ours at Spring Cove Marina, in Rock Hall, MD. Small world.

Polly and Ralph posing in Oriental, NC. Flight is behind Polly

Sunrise October 13, 2008

One last sunrise at Dowery Creek

Sunday 10-12-08
The weather was still blowing pretty good out of the NE with seas on the open waters forecast to be uncomfortable, so we stayed another day at Dowry Creek. Things were quiet and Polly & I didn’t do too much of anything. We decided to take a long walk but when we were about ½ mile away from the breezy water front, the mosquitoes became fierce, attacking us around our heads and ears and then as we batted at them, they went for our fingers. We turned around and made a bee line for the dock and our boat. Polly spent some time on the elevated porch of the marina office reading and visiting. I messed about the boat and read.

The Jamestown - close

Later, after dinner aboard (meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans), we settled in for the evening. Just before dark we had noticed a commercial tug boat heading south out in the river. The next time I glanced out, the tug was coming in the channel that leads to the marina – that got my attention. The 65-70’ heavy, steel work boat was idling up to the pilings that make up the marina perimeter and one of the men aboard called over that they were having trouble with their propulsion and was hoping for a place to spend the night and arrange for some help. The owner agreed to let them try to tie up to a series of the perimeter pilings but that didn’t work out. Next, they tried to carefully maneuver the tug into one of the larger slips next to the fuel dock but the fit was marginal and they feared they might bump a piling and break it off. In the end, the tug moved out into the river and anchored outside of the channel. That was Sunday at Dowry Creek Marina, near Belhaven, NC. We would later see the tug, Jamestown, still there when we left early Monday morning

CLOSER STILL!!